Participate in the Global Day of Action against free trade agreements on 18 April. Together with thousands of activists the Stop TTIP alliance will go out into the streets and collect more signatures for the self-organised European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). More than 1,600,000 people have signed already. That's fantastic but no reason for us to rest.

There is No Official directive on Fracking and Unconventional Energy in Northern Ireland.

Why?

The issue has not been debated at the assembly.

Why has Fracking STILL not been discussed at Executive level in the Northern Ireland assembly?

Knowing that this industry is highly contentious, why have Stormont Ministers not agreed on an Executive debate on Shale Gas Extraction and Unconventional's at the highest level.

DETI Minister Arlene Foster:

"I have stated on several occasions that I consider the future use of High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) in Northern Ireland to be a matter for the Executive to decide on. There are currently no applications to carry out HVHF in Northern Ireland"

How can there be a decision on Fracking in Northern Ireland if the issue has not even been looked at by the executive.

This comes at a time when our MLA's could be getting a pay increase. Our we getting the best from our MLA's?

28-3-2015

Infrastrata have said they will delay work at the Woodburn site in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim due to the approach of the bird nesting season.

Is this just a feeble publicity stunt by a company that wants to try to win over local people in the area?

If Infrastrata want to protect the local environment and wildlife, should they not halt all plans to drill in the area for good?

Drill expected Q4 2015

Dr Andrew Hindle:

"InfraStrata is committed to carrying out this conventional exploration in an environmentally‐responsible manner"

In 2015 RenewableUK presents the association's 14th annual offshore wind energy conference and exhibition. Taking place over two days, 24-25 June in London, RenewableUK welcomes the global industry to the capital – all in one place at one time.

London

ExCeL
Royal Victoria Dock
1 Western Gateway
London
E16 1XL

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Better decisions produce better results..

Fracking is not a good decision.

$hale Gas/Oil and its extraction, is today's burning issue.

Shale Gas is a modern fuel and can fuel more than you think. Shale gas mainly fuels anger in the areas where drilling takes place.

You cannot save the economy by destroying the environment.

If this is not where we draw the line, then where is?

Who we are..

Not For Shale is a Belfast based group of concerned members of the public who have come together to highlight the threat of Fracking/Unconventional Gas & Oil Extraction, focusing mainly in the Northern and border counties but also has a focus in bringing the issue of Fracking to a wider demographic.

An argument against Fracking.

In 2001 Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter in the final in an emotional game at Wimbledon to win the title.
Goran had been playing for years and finally won at Wimbledon after a number of attempts.
Goran was not the most technically gifted player, but he had an element to his game that helped him enormously. He had a really powerful serve and many other players found it hard to return serve. Goran played to his strength and won in the end.
Ireland must now do the same and play to its strength.
We here in Ireland live on a small island, with a small population. Ireland is known as the emerald isle.
It is seen as an island with generally clean, unpolluted rivers and lakes, the image of Ireland is of a lush green unindustrialized, under populated small island.
We are not Kuwait, Suadi Arabia, Iraq or some other state that is a high producer of fossil fuels.
The Deep Water Horizon rig that exploded in April 2010 was drilling deep in the Gulf of Mexico to tap the Tiber oil field. It was heralded to be a huge oil field.
The Tiber had oil reserves of an estimated 3 Billion Barrels but it was not expected to extract the total oil ‘in situ’ due to geology and layout of sub basin rock formation.
Now as the world consumes around 90,000,000 barrels of oil per day, the oil reserve of the Tiber would power the globe for 30 days or a month it is estimated.
Some have said only a week, and others have even highlighted that there is only enough in the Tiber field to fulfil the worlds oil needs for just 24 hours.
The point here is that when we hear media reports of ‘Huge Oil/Gas finds’ we must be careful not to be fooled into believing that all our energy problems are over.
Huge oil or gas finds are not the same as huge oil or gas finds 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. Our needs are great, and what reserves are undiscovered will only be a stay of execution if recovered.
Now back to Ireland
Ireland must play to its strength.
Just the same as Goran Ivanisevic did 20 years ago. Ireland’s strength being Tourism and Agriculture.
We live in a beautiful land that’s gathered a mystical rural green image.
Why would we want to turn this part of the world into an industrial heartland similar to that of West Germanys Rhineland region.
This is not what we want and not who we are.
We have natural Gas and Oil reserves here of course, but not in sufficient quantities so as to make any trade off beneficial. We should not sacrifice our ‘Strengths’ for only a meager return.
We should not let some greedy individuals try and convince us to give up what we value most dear for what would really only benefit the few.
We should stick to what we are good at and simply persevere. The potential for tourism in a place such as Fermanagh is seriously underplayed and has vast potential.
Many other counties in Ireland stand in the same situation.

Points to note:

In the 60's as Nuclear power came to being the new commercial industry for energy, it was hailed as the savior technology and would bring about a "Dawn of cheap energy for now and for future generations". There has been no epoch of cheap power.

This (Fracking)technology is so far ahead of current regulations that to allow it would be irresponsible.

Tax payers may have to foot the bill in an accident or unforeseen circumstances.

We are a small island.

We rely heavily on tourism and agriculture.

The UK population is of much higher concentration and unlike the USA where some states are very under populated, therefore we cannot compare like for like when talking about fracking carried out in other countries.

Gas extracted here will not necessarily mean a financial return for local people and industry.

We are trying to reduce CO2 and meet EU targets for reduction in emissions.

The use of Shale Gas could put back the development of clean renewable energy sources when now is the time to focus on these alternatives.

In event of an accident underground, it would be very difficult to remedy the fault.

Shale plays in Ireland are shallow. They are nearer the surface and aquifers than in some examples given by the industry in other places such as the USA. The proximity to clean fresh water is very worrying.

Our environment/Biosphere is being killed off by a thousand/million cuts to our symbiotic system globally. Hydro Fracturing is just another serious deep laceration to the structure that supports life on earth....

When will we say enough is enough?

As the days pass it seems the threat of Fracking becomes ever more real. The good news is that more and more people are realizing the damage this process could cause and are speaking out.

The issue here is about saying enough is enough. We must put our foot down and DEMAND that we are given a cleaner, greener, less destructive alternative by our politicians. We cannot afford to settle for any less.

By drawing a line in the sand and applying pressure on those in power and forcing a rethink on what would surely be a disaster if we were ever to allow Fracking here, we can achieve a cleaner, more environmentally friendlier alternative to power extraction, production and generation.

Those that spew the rhetoric of others in saying 'We need this for energy to power our homes and our cars' etc is no longer justifiable.

We do not want a substandard process to extract Shale gas which in itself being a fossil fuel will only add to the detriment of our world.

The alternatives are there. Only by forcing the issue and applying pressure will we see a change and a drive in a better direction.

We believe it can be done.

If enough people voice their concerns then we may see a U-turn on the idea of Fracking in Ireland.

The situation as it Stands

New proposals for Northern Ireland are at this current time being debated to make large parts of the province open to further exploitation of Oil, Gas and Coal.

No Hydraulic Fracking has been carried out in Ireland other than for minor prospecting purposes in the past.

The Republic awaits further research before moving ahead, likely to be 2015.

As prospecting looks set to begin in Fermanagh at the time of writing (July 2014)Fracking on an industrial commercial scale could become a reality here in Ireland, North and South within a very short period of time unless the people of this land voice our concerns and help bring about a halt to all proceedings.

New Mexico county Bans Fracking, first in the USA. Pittsburgh in 2010 became the first U.S. city to outlaw fracking. Since then, more than a dozen East Coast cities have followed suit, and efforts to enact a statewide ban are currently underway in California. - A moratorium on fracking remains in place in New York State until 2015.

The Bulgarian Parliament adopted on January 18, 2012, an indefinite moratorium (Ban)on hydraulic fracturing. Thus, Bulgaria became the second EU country to ban test drilling for shale gas using the method. The decision followed a wave of environmental protests.

Moratoriums to better understand the environmental impacts and draft adequate regulatory framework: Czech republic, and a number of German states like Nordrhein Westfalen and Hessen. The Netherlands also awaits the outcome of study on the risks involved in fracking. A Moratorium is overturned in Romania and make it a Shale extractor. Romania's Environment Protection Agency has issued permits to US energy giant Chevron to explore shale gas in two blocks near the Bulgarian border May 2013. Lithuania seem to want to follow suit.

Hawaii bans Fracking. Hawaii County Council spends less than 3 minutes discussing and voting to BAN FRACKING on Hawaii Island.

Early 2014 saw Los Angeles place a moratorium on fracking by way of zoning ordinance, which makes Los Angeles the first oil-producing city in California to ban fracking technologies..

What we want:

Help protect our natural heritage, and our beautiful environment.

To preserve and promote the Farming, Agricultural and Tourism sectors in N.Ireland and in the ROI.

We want to promote Green, renewable energy generation and follow the example that others such as Scotland are taking in this area.

What we do not want:

Conventional & Unconventional Oil and Gas extraction on the Island of Ireland.

Which includes:

Fracking

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) /

Coal Bed Methane (CBM)

Coal Bed Methane is methane (natural gas) trapped in coal seams underground. To extract the gas, after drilling into the seam, it is necessary to pump large amounts of water out of the coal seam to lower the pressure. It is often also necessary to frack the seam to extract the gas. There are a similar catalogue of negative environmental and social effects as with Shale Gas. This includes methane migration, toxic water contamination, air pollution, increased carbon emissions and a general industrialisation of the countryside. Impacts that are specific to CBM include depletion of the water table and potentially subsidence.

In common with other unconventional gas extraction, such as Shale Gas, CBM wells do not produce large amounts of gas per well and production declines very quickly. It is therefore necessary to drill large numbers of wells, covering a huge swaths of the landscape. CBM exploitation began in the US and over 55,000 CBM well have been drilled in the last decade or so, mostly in the western states (Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming in particular). In Australia, where it is know as Coal Seam Gas (CSG), over 5,000 CBM wells have been drilled in Queensland in the last few years and the industry is aggressively expanding into New South Wales. In the UK CBM is more advanced than Shale Gas and full scale production may begin soon.

Quotes:

DETI Minister Arlene Foster:

"I have stated on several occasions that I consider the future use of High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) in Northern Ireland to be a matter for the Executive to decide on. There are currently no applications to carry out HVHF in Northern Ireland"

Oliver Kalusch, Network Against Gas Drilling 2015:“The German government wants to create a fracking law that is tailored to the gas industry”

Gerry Adams, Ard Fheis
2015:“..We are also for the exploitation of our natural resources for the common good and not merely the profits of multi-nationals…”

Plaid's Llyr Gruffyd, north WalesAM 2015: “It’s a historic day. This is a clear statement from the National Assembly for Wales that we want a frack-free Wales.”

Climate Change diplomat, John Ashton: ‘fracking in the UK is not only an attack on the environment, but on democracy.’

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Joan Walley MP, Chair UK Environmental Audit Committee 2015:

"There are huge uncertainties around the impact that fracking could have on water supplies, air quality and public health.”

“We cannot allow Britain’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty to be developed into oil and gas fields. Even if a national moratorium on shale drilling in the UK is not accepted there should be an outright ban on fracking in such special sites.”

“The Government is trying to rush through changes to the trespass laws (Infrastructure Bill) that would allow companies to frack under people’s homes without permission. This is profoundly undemocratic and Parliament should protect the rights of citizens by throwing these changes out when they are debated later today.”

Mike Hill, Electrical Engineer 2015: “The government is doing all it can to deregulate for the fracking industry but won’t lift a finger to protect the public,”

Lou Allstadt, ex-Mobil Vice President 2015:“More Regulation will not cure all Fracking problems, ultimatley we need to move to Renewable power”

Friends of the Earth Tony Bosworth 2015: “These small fracking concessions are like trying to fix a crack in the wall while the house is burning down. This will do nothing to reassure communities who are deeply concerned about the impact of fracking... ministers should follow the lead of France, Bulgaria and New York state and ban fracking, and concentrate on developing energy systems that don’t wreck our climate instead.”

Jessica Ernst, Campaigner, Alberta, Canada 2014: "the truth will have its day in court"

BGS:

“Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) could be the size of the North Sea Oil & Gas industry within a few decades”

UK Chief Scientific Advisor Mark Walport Annual report 2014 (Fracking could be as damaging as thalidomide, tobacco and asbestos): “History presents plenty of examples of innovation trajectories that later proved to be problematic — for instance involving asbestos, benzene, thalidomide, dioxins, lead in petrol, tobacco, many pesticides, mercury, chlorine and endocrine-disrupting compounds, as well as CFCs, high-sulphur fuels and fossil fuels in general.

“In all these and many other cases, delayed recognition of adverse effects incurred not only serious environmental or health impacts, but massive expense and reductions in competitiveness for firms and economies persisting in the wrong path.”

Hollin Kretzmann, at the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco 2014: “It’s inexcusable, “At (a) time when California is experiencing one of the worst droughts in history, we’re allowing oil companies to contaminate what could otherwise be very useful ground water resources for irrigation and for drinking. It’s possible these aquifers are now contaminated irreparably.”

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Michael Leza, Texas - Denton resident who campaigned for ban 2014:"I'm really happy that the city managed to pull together and fight off the flood of industry propaganda and money. It shows that when people feel connected on a personal level with something they will get informed and vote in their own best interest.

"Unlike the statewide races where people seem more concerned with politics as a game that they are trying to win, here in Denton we saw a true grassroots movement drag the lovers of power kicking and screaming into protecting our health and safety, regardless of the wishes of the powerful to the contrary"

Baroness Jenny Jones, Green member of the London Assembly, 2014:

“The reckless pursuit of ‘fracking’ ignores the risk of contaminating ground water through the pumping of massive amounts of water and toxic chemicals under high pressure, furthermore it means that swathes of London and the South East will be threatened with disruption, noise and pollution as thousands of fracking trucks pass through their neighbourhoods.”

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity 2014: “Clean water is one of California’s most crucial resources, and these documents make it clear that (California) state regulators have utterly failed to protect our water from oil industry pollution,”

Timothy Krantz, a professor of environmental studies University of Redlands, according to the Center for Biological Diversity 2014: "Arsenic and thallium are extremely dangerous chemicals, The fact that high concentrations are showing up in multiple water wells close to wastewater injection sites (California) raises major concerns about the health and safety of nearby residents.”

Greg Palast, Journalist 2013: "fracking here would be insane, Ireland is like one big flood plain, there is water everywhere"

UK Green Party MP Caroline Lucas 2014: “the government’s disregard for the growing public concern about the major environmental and health risks of fracking. The decision to deny people the right to say no to fracking under their own homes is outrageous. It shows that ministers are putting the greed of oil and gas companies above the public interest in tackling climate change.”

Tom Greatrex, UK shadow energy minister, 2014: "It is typical of a government that is more interested in inflating the hype around fracking than ensuring it is handled in a responsible way."

Matthew Hancock Minister of State for Energy; West Suffolk, Conservative 2014:
Yes. We have an intensive communication plan. It is important to ensure that we take advantage of this indigenous and secure domestic energy supply, but in a way that is safe and secure

Nova Scotia Energy Minister Andrew Younger 2014:“Nova Scotians have indicated that by a wide margin they are concerned about hydraulic fracturing and they do not want it as part of onshore development of shales in Nova Scotia at this time,”

Liberal Democrat Mike Sole, Canterbury City Council 2014: “I believe it is important to send a clear message to energy companies seeking to drill in our area that councillors share residents’ concerns about the potential risks from shale and other forms of extreme energy.”

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Sligo Councillor, Sean McManus 2014: "Tamboran should cut their losses and ‘get the hell out of Ireland"

Hannah Jones, Reclaim the Power: "Gas will only make the climate more unstable, the energy companies richer, and the rest of us poorer.."

American analyst Jessie Colombo 2008: “In a zero-percent interest rate environment like we are currently experiencing, any boom can quickly devolve into a bubble. Shale extraction is very capital intensive and relies heavily on cheap credit to survive. Additionally, its entire existence is predicated on today’s fairly relatively high oil prices. If the price drops below $70-$80 a barrel, many shale companies will go bust in a very short space of time. Because of this, investors and lenders will go sour on fracking after taking serious losses,”

Liberal Democrat MP Martin Horwood UK: "there is a huge amount of disquiet about fracking within the party"

Independent Cllr Des Guckian Leitrim:“Fracking is as bad as letting off an atomic bomb over Fermanagh/ Leitrim. We must close the door by continuing the ban in the County Development Plan. It is an issue far beyond parties or personal likes or dislikes. We owe it to those who voted for us to defend their livelihoods and rights.”

Prof Anthony Ingraffea: "Each one per cent lifetime production leakage in a (Frack) well produces about the same climate impact as burning the methane twice,"

John Tootil, Farmer erects anti-Frack sign on busy road near Blackpool 2014: “I would sooner be prosecuted than have my children poisoned.”

Robert Gatliff, British Geological Survey 2014:"If you look at what happens in the US, and that's where you've got to look because that's where they've drilled thousands of holes, they're not getting more than 5%," Mr Gatliff said.

"In Britain we're so crowded and we've got these beautiful areas, that reduces the amount we can get out as well."

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Brenda Pollack, South East Campaigner at Friends of the Earth 2014: "This was absolutely the right decision. (Council Rejection for drilling) Nobody wants to see Sussex ruined by industrial drilling for dirty fossil fuels. If Celtique had been allowed to test for oil or gas, then there’s every chance that fracking would have followed."

"I/we oppose Fracking on the grounds that Shale gas is not the type of energy that we should be producing in Britain. We should be investing in renewable resources for future generations and for the health of our Planet.

"Worthy Farm is Not For Shale, Worthy Farm is a Frack free Zone."

Christopher Kassotis, PhD student University of Missouri, Columbia: "Among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 that we have tested block the activity of one or more important hormone receptors, The high levels of hormone disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we measured, have been associated with many poor health outcomes, such as infertility, cancer and birth defects."

Sandra Steingraber, anti-fracking activist: “The science is certainly on our side, and it points to the need for a nationwide ban,”

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Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO - 2014 (In an attempt to smear the Anti-Frack movement): “I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations - environmental organisations working against shale gas - to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas.”

Hollin Kretzmann Center for Biological Diversity California: “This is the air that 13 million people breathe every day. We need to stop this dangerous oil extraction immediately to protect the air we breathe.”

Biologist & activist Sandra Steingraber blocked the driveway of natural gas company Inergy in upstate New York: "I believe, as do many of my colleagues in the sciences, that it’s not safe to compress explosive gases and store them underneath and beside a lake that serves as the drinking water for a hundred thousand people,” she tells Bill. “From my point of view as a biologist and a mother, this out-of-state company… is trespassing in our community.”

Obama 2013 - State of The Union address:“After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future.”

World Health Organisation: "No safe level of exposure to Benzene (Chemical used to Frack) is recommended"

Michael Doran Managing Director: Action Renewables"Potential to promote/develop renewable energy on the island of Ireland is substantial.
We could be producing over 100% (Renewable)of our electricity requirement within 30-35 years"

Jason Anderson, Head of Climate and Energy for WWF’s European Policy Office: “Not only is shale gas dirty, it’s unnecessary. As Europe converts to renewable energy we will be using less gas. Our main challenge in avoiding dangerous global warming is keeping fossil fuels in the ground , not finding new ways to get them out”

Joss Garman, Greenpeace's political director: “Fracking could mean hundreds of gas-flares burning across the countryside is more bad news for the communities likely to be impacted by George Osborne's dash for gas.”

Green Party Ireland Environment, Community and Local Government, Malcolm Noonan: "We need to ask why we would go down the route of relying on a risky and polluting industry when we have other cleaner and more sustainable energy supplies available to us?"

Nick Grealy 'one of the leading advocates of shale gas in Europe'

–Do you have a favorite motto or saying?

Shale gas won’t change everything. It’s much more important than that.

Mike Young, head of the Geological Survey
Northern Ireland :

"I don't think we know enough now to know that it is safe"

****************

Alex Attwood, former Environment Minister, SDLP : "i believe that renewable energy could provide the single biggest economic opportunity for the entire island"...

Dr Aedin McLoughlin: "This industry is dirty. It causes land, air and water pollution wherever it operates throughout the world"

Simon Henry Shell's Chief Financial Officer: "The Fracking process would have a significant impact on nearby communities" (due to population proximity in UK/Europe as to the USA)

John Hodgson Blackpool/Poulton-le-Fylde resident(UK): "The whole house shook as if a lorry had run into the house" (during a frack induced quake)

Alex Attwood SDLP MLA and former Environment Minister (uk): "To simply adopt an approach that if gas exists in this form underground, for example in Fermanagh, it should be extracted, is a risk. This is a narrow approach. The right approach is to ask do we want to or need to extract the gas and can it be done safely?"

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Eamon Ryan Green Party (ie): "We should set up a forum where Engineers and Scientists from both sides of the argument can present their analysis on Fracking"

Arlene Foster DUP MLA(uk): "Over the next four years i want to see an extension of the natural gas network throughout N.Ireland.. and yes, i do have to declare an interest - i do live in a house in Brookborough which may or may not be on the line of the new gas network"

EU Commissioner Gúnther Oettinger " There should be no Fracking for 10 years" (he believed no decisions should be taken until the environmental impact of fracking was established and that could take between five and ten years) 29-9-2012

Tim Fox, IME: "UK shale gas could make a helpful contribution to the UK's energy security, but it is not the silver bullet many claim it is. It is unlikely to have a major impact on energy prices. A general over-reliance on gas will render the UK a hostage to volatile global energy markets, with or without UK shale gas."

John Cridland CBI director general: (which represents over 250,000 UK businesses in UK) "Look at European gas price projections. They all disagree on the number, but they all agree on the direction – up. European shale will help, but not on a US scale."

Volker Beckers, chief executive of RWE npower, one of the UK's big six energy companys: "There will be very little volumes of shale gas in the UK. We have more major [energy] problems to solve."

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Tony Bosworth of FOE "Regulation could make fracking “safer, but I’m not sure whether it can make it safe”

Lithuanian Environmental Protection Committee "The government should halt shale-gas exploration and production until competent European Union institutions give an opinion" on the safety of related technologies.

Simon Thorpe, the CEO of the Ommegang Brewery USA “it’s all about the quality of the water. The technology surrounding fracking is still not fully developed. Accidents are happening. Places are getting polluted.”

Jonathan Stern, of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies: (In 5 years time Europe could be producing)“very modest amounts of shale gas.” Those countries might be Poland, Britain and perhaps Romania or Bulgaria. But “if there are any environmental problems, the whole thing will stop and not restart”

Peter Stewart is chief energy analyst at Interfax, publisher of Natural Gas Daily and Global Gas Analytics: "A well-crafted energy (UK Shale Gas debate) policy should do more than keep the lights on. It should invest in affordable energy with minimal damage to the planet."

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Boris Johnston (UK Conservative) "If reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on"

David Hughes Post-Carbon Institute geologist : "the long-standing decline of US oil and gas production", this can only:

"... provide a temporary reprieve from having to deal with the real problems: fossil fuels are finite, and production of new fossil fuel resources tends to be increasingly expensive and environmentally damaging."

"It's a big issue for the industry, i have called for greater transparency. That is the only way i have an honest conversation with the public"

John Hofmeister Former Shell Oil Co President: "As an example, some industry leaders have suggested that the Fracking boom has never caused water pollution. While the vast majority of wells do not have a problem, everybody knows that some wells go bad."

Vanessa Vine, founder of Founder of Frack Free Sussex: – living four miles from the Balcombe drill site said:

“For two years we’ve tried everything we can think of. We’ve created ultimately futile petitions, inundated social media and taken a UK-wide deputation to Number 10 – with an incisive and inarguable letter calling for an outright ban on unconventional hydrocarbon exploitation in Britain. Cameron could not answer it, because the truths presented were indisputable – so he ignored it".

John Martin, RSPB: "Shale gas exploration and extraction should only be allowed within a strict regulatory and policy framework that is fit for purpose, and in Northern Ireland this does not exist."

Michael Fallon, Energy minister, Conservative: “It’s from Dorset all the way through Hampshire, Sussex – East Sussex, West
Sussex, all the way – perhaps a bit into Surrey and even into my county Kent,” he
said, adding that pro-shale commentators will have their enthusiasm for gas-drilling
tested when it happens in their backyard.
“All these people writing leaders saying: Why don’t they get on with shale?’ We are
going to see how thick their rectory walls are, whether they like flaring at the end
of the drive”

Simon Hamilton ,DUP Northern Ireland: "We are at the end of every pipeline in the world and security of supply isn't there, So, there is an attraction with what is available in terms of shale gas. What we need is not to have a knee-jerk reaction in either direction, not rule it in but equally not rule it out, and make sure all concerns about the impact on the environment are dealt with."

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Mark Durkan, SDLP Northern Ireland Environment Minister: "If and when any fracking planning application comes in, it will be for me to decide, not David Cameron"

President Barack Obama: “We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years, and my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy.”

Caroline Lucas: Green Party England (speaking at Balcombe) "When the democratic deficit is so enormous, people are left with very little option but to take peaceful, non-violent direct action."

Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale coordinator for Clean Water Action in Pennsylvania: "Whether you are the homeowner trying to get homeowners insurance or the neighbor [to a fracking site] who is trying to refinance, there are just so many tentacles to this. I don’t think people are grasping all the impacts of natural gas drilling (on real estate)."

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) congressman north and west Denver."I think a lot of folks nationally are watching this case," noted that my home district fracking leads to a "haircut on a property’s values."

David Smythe, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics at Glasgow University.states: "Previously non-seismic zones can be triggered by the injection of fluids into wells, but it is not yet known whether fracking in an area like the Weald, which is cut by many faults, could trigger shocks."

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Andrew Pendleton, head of campaigns for FOE UK: “It’s little wonder communities don’t trust the Government over fracking when their rights are so clearly being bulldozed aside to smooth the path for the big fracking firms,”

Padraig Pearse Mc Shane, Independent Councillor, Moyle, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland: “Rathlin Energy confirmed that no major employment opportunities would present themselves and the programme of work they envisaged would not be labour intensive. In addition, drilling rigs and specialised crews would all be brought in from overseas to the Ballinlea site. Neither would the company be offering training to enhance the prospect of job creation within the local community”.

Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government: "It will not be a game-changer here as it has been in the US," he told the Guardian in his first interview since his new appointment. "You will not be able to do that and there would be enormous environmental consequences."

Michelle O’Neill Sinn Fein, Agricultural Minister: "During my time as Minister of this Department I would not agree to fracking taking place on land owned by my department."

Tony Bosworth, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth: said: “People in Sussex have seen the impact of fracking in the US and the news that one of America’s biggest fracking companies (Halliburton)could be coming to the area will make them even more ready to fight drilling plans.”

Shell CEO Peter Voser:“Unconventionals did not exactly play out as planned… We expected
higher flow rates and therefore more scalability for a company like Shell.”

Andrew Pemberton, a Lancashire dairy farmer: “I’m supplying milk to 3,000 households, and if for any reason my water became contaminated, my business would be ruined and my livelihood would be destroyed, So, too, would the livelihoods of the 16 families who work for me. Fracking is dangerous and short-sighted. We should be keeping this gas in the ground,”

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Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland): "Major fossil reserves must be left in the ground"

Dame Helen Ghosh, the National Trust's Director General:"I'm not saying we will never allow fracking on our land.
"We all have yet to see what the surface environmental impact of fracking is and when we have seen it then we would reach a view about whether [we would object to it] adjacent to National Trust land or on National Trust land.
"We are waiting for the evidence (Fracking). We have an open mind."

Father Vasile Laiu, Orthodox priest from city of Barlad local opponents of fracking at Romanian Pungesti protest:

"Can we live without water?"

"No,"

"Can we live without Chevron?"

"Yes."

Balcombe Resident and former tory voter, ex-nurse and grandmother Bernadette, nicknamed 'Knitting Nana': “those in government don’t care for us; there is no democracy. All they care about is power and greed.”

Kat Goldberg-Resident of LAFAYETTE, Colorado:“I’m not keen on it. I have three kids and I’d like the environment to be sustainable for my kids and their kids. I don’t think fracking is a good thing to be doing.”

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Robert Van Wyngaarden, Golder Associates: "for Shale Gas drilling to be viable financially, one or two Frack pads are impractical. You need 400+ well's for the industry sector to work in a specific area"

Michael Fallon UK Conservatives: “There are genuine concerns (Fracking), but there are also myths and we are tackling them,”

Water UK (2013): ( which represents all major UK water and wastewater service suppliers) "(Fracking)There are risks but they are all risks that can be dealt with."

Michael Fallon UK Conservative Energy Minister: "There are genuine concerns, but there are also myths and we are tackling them."

Tony Bazley, Tamboran (2013):“dedicated to safe and responsible development, to minimise social environmental impacts. Against, are those wanting no fossil fuels at all to be used or local disturbance of any sort. For, are those wanting jobs and a vibrant economy who know it can be done safely, with lower CO2 emissions and not harming the environment. It will not harm tourism”

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Cliff Frolich, earthquake researcher, University of Texas:i'd say it certainly looks very possible that the earthquakes are related to injection wells,"(16 earthquakes in Texas Nov & Dec 2013)

Keith Krayer, Texan resident:“When they frack, they inject all that water and chemicals into the ground, then they pump it back up and separate the gas from the water, then they have to dispose of that water 13,000 feet down,”

John Browne, former CEO of BP; current CEO of Cuadrilla:“ I have never seen any hydrocarbon resource developed without some sort of opposition.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director, Geopolitics of Energy Project, Harvard Kennedy School & Former Diplomat to Northern Ireland: “in today’s world, what energy resources are developed depends as much on political factors as it does on geology and technology.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director, Geopolitics of Energy Project, Harvard Kennedy School & Former Diplomat to Northern Ireland:“The relative fortunes of the United States, Russia, and China—and their ability to exert influence in the world—are tied in no small measure to global gas developments and vice versa.”

Jessica Ernst, Canadian, Albertan environmental campaigner:"I have now seen what justice is in Alberta and I have no faith in it, i see that as no reason to give up and no reason not to file an appeal. The breach of my Charter Rights is important to all Canadians and this fracking industry wants to take away all of our rights and so does the Harper government. When you are at war -- you don't throw down your shield and sword and run. You have to defend your constitutional rights. I think we are going to win. It's just so important."

Carmen Langer, Albertan rancher in Peace River:"They said I was a threat and that I wasn't a nice guy. I said how would you feel if you had your fucking head in a bitumen tank for a while. You have to stand up to bullies to defend your rights in this province."

Noel McMeel ,Head Chef - The Lough Erne Resort Fermanagh:“Growing up on a farm, as a country boy, my love was always in cooking. I do not think I will ever do anything else but cook. Fermanagh holds, very much the best suppliers, from the likes of my venison suppliers, to my meats suppliers, and my chicken suppliers. This is the most fruitful county there is.”

Deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, Cllr Clyde Loakes UK Coalition Gov Jan 2014, said:"In Waltham Forest we have no intention of allowing fracking. Regardless of what financial benefits might be on offer, we will not compromise the safety and wellbeing of our current or future residents."

Lawrence Carter, climate campaigner at Greenpeace, said of the new polling (falling support for Shale):"David Cameron appears to have lost his knack for PR. After a concerted push from the prime minister to sell shale gas to the public, including financial bungs to local councils, his net return is that fewer people support fracking. It is time he listened to the voices of local communities and abandoned his plans to industrialise our countryside with this dirty, risky and controversial practice and instead backed the home insulation programmes and clean energy sources that can tackle rising bills and protect the environment."

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John Rumpler, senior attorney for Environment America: “Fracking is taking a terrible toll on our environment and our health,” “People should see and hear the truth before they find themselves living next door to dirty drilling.”

Economics Minister Henk Kamp: "The (Fracking) earthquake problem is a problem for all the Dutch"

Christopher Boxall, Director Fundamental Asset Management: There is insufficient proppant (Sand, Water, Chemicals) in Northern Ireland to enable Shale Gas to be extracted. The UK will never be able to build out this type of infrastructure to support and i suspect Ireland will be the same"

Achim Steiner (UNEP) Top Environmental Official:(Shale Gas) "If it is used as a means of not investing in the transition to a renewable energy economy then I think it will become a liability in our struggle to meet climate change targets over this century,"

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson: (Fracking Regulation) “This type of dysfunctional regulation is holding back the American economic recovery, growth, and global competitiveness,” he said in 2012. ( Tillerson then in early 2014 joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home. )

Calvin Tillman, Former Mayor of Dish Texas:This industry is not being responsible and respectful.

Malcolm Finney, honorary secretary of the Garrison and Lough Melvin Fishing Association Fermanagh, Northern Ireland:(Finney pointed out that sonaghan trout is unique to Lough Melvin, which stretches from Leitrim to Fermanagh) “It’s been here since the Iron Age, but would disappear if fracking goes ahead,”We have other rare species including Arctic Char which is dying out all over Ireland. We put 200,000 salmon fry into our system over the past six years and we want to protect all that. Lough Melvin (Co Fermanagh) has been designated as an area of Special Scientific Interest and also as a Special Area of Conservation. We have the highest degree of protection from the EU, but it would only take one accident (Fracking) to destroy the lake if they start to drill,”

Adam Scow, California’s director of Food & Water Watch:“We congratulate the Los Angeles City Council for supporting the L.A. fracking moratorium motion (early 2014), a strong step toward protecting the people of Los Angeles from severe health and environmental impacts,”

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Liz Crosson, executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper: “We don’t know all of the chemicals oil companies are exposing us to when they frack in our neighborhoods, but we know enough to know we don’t want them in our air or in our water.”

Joe Cartwright, Shell Professor of Earth Sciences at Oxford university (2014):“The UK is highly faulted by comparison to a typical North American shale area like Marcellus or Eagle Ford, our areas are intrinsically more complex.”

UK Dj Dave Haslam (Hacienda Manchester):“We’re a long way from fracking being proven to be safe. Pursuit of profit is the only thing driving this and I don’t think the environment should be put at risk as a result. There is plenty of evidence to say it can cause chemical contamination of water supplies and contamination of the atmosphere. “But it’s okay for the government to give the city council a bit of money to make sure it happens. Something seems very wrong here. I’m just an ordinary council tax payer.
"In fact, like the majority of the protestors at the Barton Moss site, I’m an informed, annoyed, community-minded person who wants the best for the next generations."

Martin Salter, National Campaign Coordinator for the Angling Trust UK (2014):(85% of the worlds chalk streams are located in England)“How can we lecture countries like Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo on their lack of care of the world's rainforests when our own stewardship of the majority of the world's chalk streams is so poor?”

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Harry Huyton, head of energy and climate change RSPB 2014: "We have found that there are serious potential risks to the environment from fracking"

Vivienne Westwood, campaigner and fashion designer:"Don’t sell your soul to the devil. You’re a criminal. Other people’s lives are at stake as well as your own."

Owen Paterson, UK Conservative Environment Secretary: "I would like to see shale gas exploited all over rural parts of the UK. The opportunities here are enormous."

Vinnie Jones, Welsh Actor: “Fracking will increase the risk of pollution and that will be bad for wildlife, If you value these places you should not allow that to happen”

Professor Richard Davies, Durham University: "The research confirms that well failure in hydrocarbon wells is an issue and that publicly available data in Europe on this seems to be sparse,"

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson (on the Shale boom):"We are all losing our shirts today. We're making no money.
It's all in the red."

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Economist Professor Ottmar Edenhofer,(IPCC):“It doesn’t cost the world to save the planet,”

Campaigner Brenda Pollack (Thursday 17 April 2014) on the trial of Green Party MP Caroline Lucas: “The court has taken the right decision – it should be fracking on trial, not those campaigning to stop it. "

MEP Helmut Scholz GUE/NGL :"The ISDS mechanism is totally inacceptable because it allows transnational corporations to elude the normal jurisdiction of the countries in which they invest, and it ignores the necessity for the state to keep policy space to apply social and environmental rules"

Vanessa Vine, BIFF: "If you see a job it's yours. If you have an idea, implement it"

Lynn Helms, Head of the state Department Mineral Resources, North Dakota:“This [leak - Frack blowOut] is a large one and also a health and human risk, it’s a big one,”

Dart Energy's John McGoldrick told shareholders:"shale gas [under] where all the Man Utd football players live (Greater Manchester)" was worth billions".

[Shell to Sea] Mick Wallace, Dáil, submission Garda Amendment Bill 2014: "The citizen has a right to protest peacefully, but that is not what happened at Rossport, where democracy was suspended to facilitate the interests of Shell. Civil liberties were eroded, and repression, criminality and a lack of accountability became the order of the day. The people of Corrib deserve justice. The people of Ireland also deserve justice"

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US Campaigner Liz Arnold 2014:"There is no evidence in the US to prove fracking is done safely."